Content Management System (CMS) Comparison

There was a blog post I read today on the DotNetNuke (DNN) web site that showed a comparison of a handful of CMS products. It was quite impressive. However, it did not contain the more popular alternatives to DNN. So, I did my own look-up at CMSMatrix.org.

Please note that I do not know how reputable that site is as a source, but the results and comparisons are impressive.

Here are the results:

Last Updated

11/29/2007

11/22/2007

1/12/2007

4/25/2006

12/16/2006

6/15/2005

8/12/2007

2/7/2006

5/28/2004

12/20/2006

System Requirements

DotNetNuke

Drupal

Ektron CMS400.net

Joomla!

Mambo

Microsoft CMS

Moodle

PHP Nuke

Rainbow

Xoops

Application Server

IIS

PHP 4.3.3+

.NET

Apache recommended, any server that supports PHP and MySQL

PHP 4.1.2+

IIS + ASP.NET

PHP 4.3.3+

mod_php

Ms AspNET

PHP 4 or 5, with XML support.

Approximate Cost

Free

Free

$9650

$0

Free

0

Free

Free

Database

MSSQL 2005/2000, MSSQL Express 2005, MSDE

MySQL, Postgres

Oracle, SQLserver, MSDE

MySQL

MySQL

MSSQL

MySQL, Oracle, MSSQL, Postgres

MySQL, Postgres, mSQL, Interbase, Sybase

SQL / Msde

MySQL 4.23.xx or later

License

BSD (Modified)

GNU GPL

per URL

GNU GPL

GNU GPL

Commercial

GNU GPL

GNU GPL

Open Source

GNU GPL

Operating System

Windows

Any

Windows, OS X

Any

Any

Windows

Any

Any

win 2000 srv

Any

Programming Language

ASP.NET 2.0, VB.NET, C#

PHP

ASP.NET, ASP, CFM, PHP, JSP

PHP

PHP

.NET

PHP 4.3 or later

PHP

C#

PHP 4.1.0 or later

Root Access

No

No

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

Shell Access

No

No

No

No

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

Web Server

IIS 5.0 & IIS 6.0 & IIS 7.0

Apache, IIS

IIS

Apache

Apache, IIS, any PHP enabled web server, but Apache Recommended

IIS

Any

Apache, IIS

IIS

Apache, IIS

Security

DotNetNuke

Drupal

Ektron CMS400.net

Joomla!

Mambo

Microsoft CMS

Moodle

PHP Nuke

Rainbow

Xoops

Audit Trail

Limited

Yes

Yes

No

No

Free Add On

Yes

No

Limited

Limited

Captcha

Yes

Free Add On

No

Yes

Yes

No

No

No

Free Add On

Content Approval

Limited

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

Email Verification

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

No

Yes

Granular Privileges

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Limited

Yes

Yes

Kerberos Authentication

Free Add On

No

No

No

No

Yes

Yes

No

No

No

LDAP Authentication

No

Free Add On

Yes

Free Add On

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

No

Yes

Login History

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Free Add On

Free Add On

Yes

No

Yes

Free Add On

NIS Authentication

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

NTLM Authentication

Yes

Free Add On

No

No

No

Yes

Yes

No

No

No

Pluggable Authentication

Yes

Yes

No

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Costs Extra

No

Problem Notification

Yes

No

Yes

No

No

No

Yes

No

Limited

Limited

Sandbox

Yes

No

Yes

No

No

Limited

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

Session Management

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Limited

No

Yes

No

Limited

Limited

SMB Authentication

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

SSL Compatible

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Free Add On

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

SSL Logins

Yes

No

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

SSL Pages

Yes

No

Yes

No

Free Add On

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Versioning

Limited

Yes

Yes

Yes

Limited

Yes

Yes

No

No

Yes

Support

DotNetNuke

Drupal

Ektron CMS400.net

Joomla!

Mambo

Microsoft CMS

Moodle

PHP Nuke

Rainbow

Xoops

Certification Program

Yes

No

Yes

No

No

No

Yes

No

Limited

Yes

Code Skeletons

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

No

Yes

No

No

Commercial Manuals

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

No

Yes

Commercial Support

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

Commercial Training

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

No

Developer Community

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Online Help

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

No

Limited

Pluggable API

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Professional Hosting

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Professional Services

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

Public Forum

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Public Mailing List

Yes

Yes

No

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

Test Framework

Yes

Free Add On

No

No

No

Yes

No

No

Third-Party Developers

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Users Conference

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

No

Yes

Ease of Use

DotNetNuke

Drupal

Ektron CMS400.net

Joomla!

Mambo

Microsoft CMS

Moodle

PHP Nuke

Rainbow

Xoops

Drag-N-Drop Content

Yes

Free Add On

Yes

No

No

No

Yes

No

No

Free Add On

Email To Discussion

Costs Extra

Free Add On

Yes

Free Add On

No

No

Yes

No

No

No

Friendly URLs

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Limited

Free Add On

Image Resizing

Free Add On

Free Add On

Yes

Yes

No

No

Yes

No

Free Add On

Macro Language

Yes

Free Add On

Yes

Yes

Yes

Free Add On

No

No

No

Limited

Mass Upload

Yes

Free Add On

Yes

No

No

Limited

Yes

No

Free Add On

Prototyping

Yes

Limited

Yes

Yes

No

No

No

No

No

Server Page Language

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Site Setup Wizard

No

Limited

No

Spell Checker

Free Add On

Free Add On

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

Free Add On

No

No

Style Wizard

Yes

Limited

Yes

No

No

Yes

No

No

Subscriptions

Yes

Free Add On

Yes

No

No

No

Yes

No

Yes

Template Language

Yes

Limited

Yes

Yes

Yes

Free Add On

No

No

No

Yes

UI Levels

Yes

No

Yes

No

Yes

No

Yes

No

No

Yes

Undo

Limited

Limited

Yes

No

Yes

Free Add On

Yes

No

No

Limited

WYSIWYG Editor

Yes

Free Add On

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Free Add On

Zip Archives

Yes

No

Yes

No

No

Yes

No

No

Performance

DotNetNuke

Drupal

Ektron CMS400.net

Joomla!

Mambo

Microsoft CMS

Moodle

PHP Nuke

Rainbow

Xoops

Advanced Caching

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

No

Database Replication

No

Limited

Yes

No

No

No

Yes

No

No

Load Balancing

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

No

Yes

Yes

No

No

Yes

Page Caching

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

Static Content Export

Yes

No

Yes

No

No

Yes

No

No

No

Management

DotNetNuke

Drupal

Ektron CMS400.net

Joomla!

Mambo

Microsoft CMS

Moodle

PHP Nuke

Rainbow

Xoops

Advertising Management

Yes

Free Add On

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

No

Yes

Costs Extra

Yes

Asset Management

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

Clipboard

Limited

No

Yes

No

Yes

No

Yes

No

No

Yes

Content Scheduling

Yes

Free Add On

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

No

Yes

Yes

Content Staging

Yes

Free Add On

Yes

No

No

Yes

Yes

No

Costs Extra

Limited

Inline Administration

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

Online Administration

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Limited

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Package Deployment

Yes

No

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

No

Yes

Sub-sites / Roots

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Free Add On

Themes / Skins

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Trash

Yes

No

No

Yes

Yes

Free Add On

No

No

No

No

Web Statistics

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Free Add On

Web-based Style/Template Management

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

Free Add On

Yes

Limited

Yes

Yes

Web-based Translation Management

Yes

Yes

Yes

Free Add On

Yes

No

Yes

No

Limited

Yes

Workflow Engine

Free Add On

Limited

Yes

No

No

Limited

Yes

No

Limited

No

Interoperability

DotNetNuke

Drupal

Ektron CMS400.net

Joomla!

Mambo

Microsoft CMS

Moodle

PHP Nuke

Rainbow

Xoops

Content Syndication (RSS)

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Free Add On

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

FTP Support

Yes

Limited

Yes

Free Add On

No

No

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

iCal

Yes

Free Add On

Yes

UTF-8 Support

Yes

Yes

Yes

Limited

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Limited

WAI Compliant

Limited

Limited

Yes

No

Limited

Free Add On

Yes

No

Limited

No

WebDAV Support

Costs Extra

No

No

No

No

No

Yes

No

No

No

XHTML Compliant

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Free Add On

Yes

No

Yes

No

Flexibility

DotNetNuke

Drupal

Ektron CMS400.net

Joomla!

Mambo

Microsoft CMS

Moodle

PHP Nuke

Rainbow

Xoops

CGI-mode Support

No

Yes

No

No

No

No

Yes

Yes

No

No

Content Reuse

Yes

Limited

Yes

Yes

Limited

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Free Add On

Extensible User Profiles

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Free Add On

Yes

Yes

No

Costs Extra

No

Interface Localization

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Metadata

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Free Add On

Multi-lingual Content

Free Add On

Yes

Yes

Free Add On

Free Add On

Free Add On

Yes

No

Free Add On

Multi-lingual Content Integration

Free Add On

Free Add On

Yes

Free Add On

Free Add On

No

Yes

No

Free Add On

Multi-Site Deployment

Yes

Yes

Yes

Free Add On

Free Add On

Yes

Yes

No

No

URL Rewriting

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

No

No

Yes

Built-in Applications

DotNetNuke

Drupal

Ektron CMS400.net

Joomla!

Mambo

Microsoft CMS

Moodle

PHP Nuke

Rainbow

Xoops

Blog

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Free Add On

Chat

Yes

Free Add On

No

Free Add On

Free Add On

No

Yes

No

No

Free Add On

Classifieds

Free Add On

Free Add On

No

Free Add On

Free Add On

No

Yes

No

No

Free Add On

Contact Management

Yes

Free Add On

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

No

No

Yes

Data Entry

Yes

Free Add On

Yes

Free Add On

Free Add On

No

Yes

No

Limited

Free Add On

Database Reports

Yes

No

Yes

Free Add On

Free Add On

No

Yes

No

Yes

Free Add On

Discussion / Forum

Yes

Yes

Yes

Free Add On

Free Add On

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Document Management

Yes

Limited

Yes

Free Add On

Free Add On

Yes

Yes

No

No

Free Add On

Events Calendar

Yes

Free Add On

Yes

Free Add On

Free Add On

Free Add On

Yes

No

Yes

Free Add On

Events Management

Yes

Free Add On

Yes

No

No

Yes

Free Add On

Expense Reports

Costs Extra

No

Yes

Free Add On

No

No

Yes

No

No

No

FAQ Management

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

File Distribution

Yes

Free Add On

Yes

Free Add On

Free Add On

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Free Add On

Graphs and Charts

Yes

No

No

Free Add On

Free Add On

No

Yes

No

No

Groupware

Free Add On

Free Add On

No

Free Add On

Free Add On

No

Yes

No

Limited

No

Guest Book

Yes

Free Add On

Yes

Free Add On

Free Add On

No

Yes

No

No

Free Add On

Help Desk / Bug Reporting

Costs Extra

Free Add On

Yes

Free Add On

Free Add On

No

Yes

No

Limited

Free Add On

HTTP Proxy

Free Add On

No

Yes

No

No

No

No

No

No

Yes

In/Out Board

Costs Extra

No

Yes

No

No

No

Yes

No

No

Job Postings

Free Add On

Free Add On

Yes

Free Add On

Free Add On

No

Yes

No

No

Free Add On

Link Management

Yes

Free Add On

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Mail Form

Yes

Free Add On

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

Matrix

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

My Page / Dashboard

Yes

Free Add On

Yes

No

Free Add On

No

Yes

No

No

Yes

Newsletter

Yes

Free Add On

Yes

Free Add On

Free Add On

No

Yes

No

Free Add On

Photo Gallery

Yes

Free Add On

Yes

Free Add On

Free Add On

No

Yes

No

Yes

Free Add On

Polls

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Product Management

Yes

Free Add On

Yes

Yes

Free Add On

No

Yes

No

Yes

Free Add On

Project Tracking

Costs Extra

Free Add On

Yes

Free Add On

Free Add On

No

Yes

No

Yes

Free Add On

Search Engine

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

Site Map

Yes

Free Add On

Yes

Free Add On

Free Add On

Free Add On

No

No

Free Add On

Stock Quotes

Costs Extra

Free Add On

No

No

No

Free Add On

No

Free Add On

Surveys

Yes

Free Add On

Yes

Free Add On

Free Add On

No

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

Syndicated Content (RSS)

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Free Add On

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Tests / Quizzes

Costs Extra

Free Add On

Yes

Free Add On

Free Add On

No

Yes

No

Yes

Free Add On

Time Tracking

Costs Extra

Free Add On

No

No

No

No

Yes

No

No

Free Add On

User Contributions

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Weather

Free Add On

Free Add On

No

No

Free Add On

No

No

Free Add On

Web Services Front End

Free Add On

No

Yes

Free Add On

No

No

No

No

Yes

Free Add On

Wiki

Yes

Free Add On

Yes

Free Add On

Limited

No

Yes

No

Free Add On

Commerce

DotNetNuke

Drupal

Ektron CMS400.net

Joomla!

Mambo

Microsoft CMS

Moodle

PHP Nuke

Rainbow

Xoops

Affiliate Tracking

Yes

Free Add On

No

Free Add On

Free Add On

No

No

No

No

Yes

Inventory Management

Costs Extra

Free Add On

No

Free Add On

Free Add On

No

Yes

No

Free Add On

Pluggable Payments

Yes

Free Add On

No

Free Add On

Free Add On

No

Yes

No

Free Add On

Pluggable Shipping

Costs Extra

Free Add On

No

Free Add On

Free Add On

No

No

No

Free Add On

Pluggable Tax

Costs Extra

Free Add On

No

Free Add On

Free Add On

No

No

No

Free Add On

Point of Sale

Costs Extra

No

No

Free Add On

Free Add On

No

No

No

No

Shopping Cart

Yes

Free Add On

No

Free Add On

Free Add On

No

No

No

Yes

Free Add On

Subscriptions

Yes

Free Add On

No

Free Add On

Free Add On

No

No

No

Free Add On

Wish Lists

No

Free Add On

No

Free Add On

No

No

Yes

No

Free Add O

We all have reasons for picking or not picking a product or service, and although I could go into great detail of why, please make your own decision for yourself. (Unless you REALLY want to know...)